Common Sense Thesis

Like a child being smothered by its mother, a young America longed for freedom. After fleeing from Europe to escape persecution, the pioneers of this country found themselves oppressed once again by the English. All the colonists needed was a masterpiece of propaganda to sway them in support of the patriot cause. They found exactly what they were looking for in the pamphlet, “Common Sense.” Published in the midst of the Revolutionary war, the pamphlet advocated colonial independence and discussed the advantages of republicanism over heredity succession. The author, Thomas Paine, was a strong opponent toward reconciliation and urged his readers to come to the same consensus. As the title of the work suggests, Paine uses common sense, antagonization …show more content…
He uses personal pronouns in order to engage the reader and make them feel like they are an integral part in the fight for freedom. For example, he says, “O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth!” Phrasing the statement like this makes the reader feel like he/she has an obligation to join in the rally for separation. Paine also successfully adds insight, unwillingly, to future events. He had the idea that, “The vast variety of interests, occasioned by an increase of trade and population, would create confusion. Colony would be against colony.” As fate would have it, the Civil War was triggered by a rapid increase of split public opinion about slavery and federal government control, exactly like Paine suggests. America's second war was also sparked by a lack of unity which, as mentioned earlier, was also something Paine foresaw. He knew that a united nation was imperative for the Revolutionary War and he had the notion that it would be important in years to come. Although the pamphlet was efficacious in rallying American support, nobody could have foreseen the hardships ahead. Utilizing a call to action added to the patriot cause and enabled America to be prepared for a lengthy